


Dark Prism

by whythokylo (OpalElephant)



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - Dark, Dubious Consent, F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Psychological Torture, Snoke plays with Rey's head
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-17 13:52:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5872822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OpalElephant/pseuds/whythokylo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rey awakens again, except this time it's to a life she can't recall with a man she only knows as her enemy. My attempt at a long form, dark AU. (Formerly titled Aphelion)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AN: This idea has been hounding me for several weeks now, and rather than be miserable and try to ignore it I've opted to give it a shot. This has the potential to get dark and morally ambiguous, so if you feel uneasy about that please give this one a miss.

In her dream she's back on Jakku.

 

She's watching herself from the outside: a little girl with three buns in her hair and fat tears rolling down her cheeks as she screams at the sky.

 

_ Don't go! _

 

The scene melts and reforms into Finn, haunted and guilty as he says goodbye to her in Maz’s castle.

 

_ Don't go,  _ she pleads.

 

But her first real friend turns his back on her and walks out, would run if he had just an ounce less pride.

 

It changes again to Luke Skywalker's hut on Ahch-To, the old Master seated by the fire pit, and this time he's the one imploring her: 

 

_ Don't go. We'll find a way _ .

 

Yet another image appears, and this time it's of Poe. He looks exhausted as he pats BB-8 like the astromech is a dog.

 

_ I'm sorry buddy, but she's gone _ .

 

_ Who is? _ she wonders, and Poe's head whips around as if he can hear her. That's the moment she wakes up, of course.

 

It takes a few seconds before Rey realizes she's in an unfamiliar bed. 

 

Her cot at the old Resistance base - while perfectly serviceable - could never be described as ‘silken’ like the sheet tangled around her legs, nor ‘plush’ like the pillow under her head, and her bunk on the Falcon was even more utilitarian. She can't help but run her fingers along the fabric, half asleep still and marveling at the luxury.

 

Sunlight pours through the parted drapes by a set of bay windows made of actual  _ glass _ , not just transparisteel, something she's never seen outside of holos. Any inclination she might've had to roll back over and steal a few more minutes evaporates.

 

Groggy, Rey blinks and sits up. The bedroom is huge, bigger than any she's ever been in, with a high ceiling and strange paintings on the walls. The bed itself is massive too, fitted with slate gray sheets and a matching comforter that's so heavy and soft it makes her feel over-warm just looking at it. From the way it's wadded up to one side it's apparent she kicked it away, and no wonder.

 

Rolling to the edge of the mattress she sets her feet on the floor, and her toes sink into a pelt rug that covers the hardwood. The breeze runs a cool fingertip against her bare thighs - she's wearing a large shirt and little else, the sleeves so long she has to push them back by her elbows. Her hair falls loose around her shoulders and down her back, and the flutter of unease in her gut grows stronger as Rey notes it's several inches longer than she remembers it being. 

 

Something whizzes past the window and catches her eye. Wrapping her arms around herself she pads over to investigate, clambering up on the window seat for a better view.

 

After her eyes adjust to the light, a bustling cityscape is what she finds.

 

For several long seconds all she can do is gape in dumbfounded amazement. A small transport vessel flies past, so close the engine ought to have been deafening, but the sound is muted by some kind of privacy screen. Beneath her perch is a small balcony laden with potted plants, a strange collection including a trough overflowing with delicate lace-like flowers, a neon purple fern, and three squat succulents.

 

_ Where am I? _

 

Swallowing the panic bubbling up her throat Rey backs away from the window and staggers past a vanity sitting against the wall, catching sight of her reflection in the mirror. The woman who stares wide-eyed back at her  _ is _ Rey, though not quite as she knows herself: she's fuller in the hips, with the tiniest crease of a laugh line by her mouth and that long, long hair. She looks... _ older _ .

 

Clutching at her stomach she turns and bolts for the nearest door, but instead of the ‘fresher she stumbles out into a hallway. Her legs propel her blindly forward - anything to get out of that room.

 

The hall opens up into a spacious living area, the walls all made of glass to show off an incredible view of the city, and in the middle is a recessed spot that's lined with cushions surrounding a holoprojector. Someone is sitting there, and when they hear her pounding footsteps they turn around.

 

_ This is still a dream _ , she thinks, frantic, her mind struggling to comprehend.  _ I'm still sleeping. Wake up, wake up-- _

 

Because the one she sees is Kylo Ren.

 

He's unmistakable even though he's changed too: his hair is pushed back from his forehead and curls around his ears, and he's grown a neatly trimmed mustache and beard on his pointed chin. When he stands to face her fully she sees he's still dressed all in black, though he's traded the dramatic flowing robes for trousers and a tunic that buttons up on one side. He's not wearing his gloves either, and for some reason seeing his uncovered hands, his fingers long and pale, disturbs her more than anything yet.

 

Until he smiles at her.

 

It crinkles his eyes at the corners and deepens the dimples in his cheeks, his full lips parting to reveal slightly crooked teeth. He's more strikingly unusual than classically handsome, but for half a moment something in her chest stutters at the sight of him and wants to call him  _ beautiful _ .

 

Her stomach pitches and rolls.

 

“Rey.” He holds out a hand to her as he begins to ascend the short steps out of the sitting area; she recoils instead, and his face falls. “Are you alright?”

 

Rey can't help the hysterical panicked laugh that rips itself from her throat. “I’m--where the  _ hell _ am I?!”

 

Kylo’s brow pulls down into a confused furrow. “What?”

 

“Where have you taken me?” she growls, eyes darting around for the exit. There's a kitchen area to the right, and another hall that possibly, hopefully, leads to the front door.

 

“This is our apartment,” he says slowly, like he's talking to someone very young and stupid.

 

Her head is swimming, unable to decide which of these revelations is most horrifying. She sways on her feet and his expression morphs from confused to concerned, but when he lunges forward to catch her she actually  _ screams _ .

 

“ _ Don't touch me!” _

 

Kylo Ren stops short and lets her fall, though the way his hands spasm she can tell he's seconds from grabbing her anyway. “What's the matter!? Rey--”

 

“What year is it?” She cuts in, scooting away from him on her bottom.

 

Kylo Ren stares at her like she has three heads. “Forty-one ABY.”

 

Her hands tangle in her hair and pull, hard. That can't be right, it's not possible, she was just on the Falcon on her way to the new Resistance base and it was thirty-five ABY--

 

At this point she's started rocking and shivering, and Kylo drops to his knees in front of her. His hands on her shoulders jolts her back to awareness.

 

“I said don't touch me!” 

 

He has the audacity to look hurt, and then something dark and determined flits across his face an instant before she feels him reach  _ inside _ , his mind in hers. She repels him with a cry and surprises herself with how easily, how powerfully she does so -still, whatever he managed to glimpse before she shut him out makes him suck in a sharp breath.

 

“Calm down,” he says, “I'm not going to hurt you.” The worst part is she believes him, but she doesn't know why.

 

“I'm so…” Tears prick at her eyes and she forces them back. “I don't understand…”

 

Kylo opens his mouth, but then his gaze flickers over to a point past her shoulder and he snaps it shut.

 

_ Don't look _ , something in her warns, but she cannot obey. She has to see this. Her head turns, and her heart stops.

 

There's a child standing in the doorway, with tousled dark curls and one hand tugging down his pajama shirt as the other rubs at his nose. He shuffles closer, and Rey feels a chill creep down her spine.

  
He has her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Rey wishes she could faint, slip back into that liminal space between and awake in a world that makes sense.

 

Yet she can't look away: the chill has spread and turned her numb, her limbs too heavy to lift, her tongue too dry to speak. The boy toddles closer and reaches for her, and she shrinks back like a cornered animal.

 

“Hi Mommy,” he says in a high, lispy voice, and bitter denial burns in her throat.

 

Shaking her head Rey scuttles backwards, but there's nowhere to go except straight into the solid wall of Kylo Ren’s chest. His fingers curl around her arms and hold fast, both to steady and restrain her.

 

“Go on back to bed,” he instructs the boy, who pouts at him in return.

 

“It's  _ morning _ . Right Mommy?”

 

Every time he says it feels like a punch to the gut, but Kylo’s grip tightening on her arms is warning enough to keep her quiet. 

 

The child's dark brows scrunch in confusion as the tense silence stretches on. “Right?”

 

“Mommy had a bad dream,” Kylo Ren says stiffly. “She's very tired. Back to bed now.”

 

Sullen, the boy pads up to Rey and throws himself into her lap instead. She can't help the way her muscles tense, and he notices.

 

“You're still scared?” He asks, gazing at her with those terrifying, familiar eyes. This close up she can pick out other features she recognizes: a beauty spot above one eyebrow, blue-black highlights in his hair, and the softly rounded beginnings of what will surely grow into a prominent nose. Looking at him makes her heart ache fiercely, and not trusting her voice, she nods.

 

Blinking, the boy stretches one small hand toward her face. The gesture is so reminiscent of her interrogation at Kylo Ren’s mercy that she flinches - and only when she feels him gently brush his fingers over her cheek does she realize he's wiping away tears.

 

“It's just pretend,” he whispers, like he's sharing a secret, and Rey hiccups and twists.

 

Kylo Ren pulls Rey to her feet as he stands, displacing the boy in the process. “I've asked you twice Tobi. Don't make me repeat myself again.”

 

_ Tobi _ . The name pierces her like a blaster bolt, but there's nothing to explain why; her memory remains infuriatingly blank even as her heartbeat thunders.

 

“I want  _ Mommy _ ,” Tobi demands.

 

“She’s not well--”

 

“No!” He stamps his feet, red-faced, and the windows shudder in their frames.

 

“Tobi!” Kylo barks, and just like that the oncoming tantrum dissolves into sniffles. Abandoning Rey he bends to scoop the child up into his arms with a low  _ shush _ , and she catches a glimpse of Tobi's watery hazel eyes before he's carried away.

 

In these precious minutes alone Rey knows she ought to make a break for it, but seeing the boy has turned her feet to lead. Her thoughts flit restlessly, anxiously, until Kylo Ren returns to see her frozen where he left her, staring at the motes of dust swirling through the air in silence. He clears his throat to break the spell, and she glances in his direction.

 

“Will you sit with me?” He's subdued, his tone pleading, and Rey can't reconcile this man with the one she knows - the one who would've forced her to sit by strapping her to the chair.

 

“I suppose I have no choice,” she snaps and scrubs the back of her hand across her face. She carefully steps down into the pit around the holoprojector and settles on the cushion furthest from him, so he takes a seat across from her. 

 

“Tobi is our son,” he says with zero fanfare, staring at his folded hands. “Our biological son.”

 

With a sigh Rey lets the last of her hopeful doubts on that account wither away. She'd known the second he'd entered the room, no matter how little sense it makes. All she can manage to croak out is “how?”

 

Kylo’s lips twitch as he replies: “The usual way.”

 

“Don't you  _ dare _ ,” she bites out. “There's no way I would've--with  _ you _ \--”

 

“A great deal can happen in a few years.” He rubs a hand over his jaw as he studies her, and Rey lifts her chin and refuses to squirm. “That's what you think, right? You've jumped ahead.”

 

“...yes.”

 

He stands to pace the floor, rasping his thumb over his beard. “Tell me what you do recall.”

 

Bristling, Rey stands too. “I think you're the one who owes me an explanation. Now.”

 

“How will I know where to start if you won't--”

 

“Start with the fact that you're a Dark-sider  **monster** who's clearly used some kind of mind trick on me!”

 

His head whips around, and for a second she sees the Kylo Ren she remembers in his flashing eyes and snarling mouth. “I've done  _ nothing _ ,” he spits as he rounds the table between them to loom over her, pointing angrily.

 

“Then why don't I remember?!” Rey shoots back and swats his finger away. “Did--did you join the Resistance?”

 

His jaw flexes as he chews the inside of his cheek. “No.”

 

The chill returns, like two icy fingertips walking up and down her spine. “Then I…?” 

 

The thought doesn't bear finishing; of all the things this nightmare has wrought, this can't be one of them. She can't listen to him say she's become a traitor.

 

“It would be easier to show you,” he says quietly, his presence in the Force grazing her like a whisper that says  _ let me in _ , but her reaction to that is immediate and negative.

 

“Stay out of my head you liar,” she hisses. “In fact, stay far away from me. I'm leaving.”

 

Kylo Ren goes still. “No, you're not.”

 

“You can't stop me!”

 

“Rey.” He's changed tactics again, using a soothing tone that sounds like silk, that makes her want to do something stupid like trust him. “ _ Think _ . You don't know where you are, or even  _ who _ you are--listen,” he insists when she starts to object. “You’re not a scavenger girl just coming into her own anymore.”

 

He dares to come closer, and Rey feels pinned by his bottomless black eyes, her pulse galloping at his proximity. “Then who am I?”

 

“My partner. My equal.” He cups her chin in his fingers, and his skin is warm and surprisingly soft. “The mother of my child.”

 

“Am I your wife?” She asks, breathless.

 

Kylo Ren’s hand slides around to cradle her head as he nudges further into her space. “In all but name.” His gaze burns as it settles on her lips, and she knows he wants to kiss her.  There's an alien compulsion urging her to let him, telling her this is a familiar scene, an enjoyable one - and it sickens her.

 

She takes a deliberate step back. “I can't believe anything you say.”

 

Kylo growls and rakes a hand through his hair. “Believe what you want, but the proof is right down the hall.” She flinches at that, but he’s run out of patience: “I don't know what's caused this... _ episode _ , but running away won't help you.”

 

Rey grits her teeth and glares at him, resolute, until he sighs.

 

“At least get dressed before you make your escape attempt,” he mutters and gestures at her bare legs. Rey flushes and tugs at the hem of the long shirt. She’s still tugging as she stumbles backwards down the hallway, unwilling to turn her back on him for even a moment.

  
Kylo Ren watches her go, and in the split second between when she opens the bedroom door and closes it on him she thinks she sees his expression crumble.


End file.
